I want to extend to the family of President Mandela, to President Zuma
and to the people of South Africa, my sincere and heartfelt condolences
at the death of Madiba on my own behalf and that of Sinn Fein.

The world is in mourning. We have lost our greatest statesman. Madiba
was a leader who by his courage demonstrated that it is possible to
reconcile differences. By his example he showed us that it is possible
to build peace out of conflict; a better and more equal future based on
fairness, and unity out of division.

In the hard years when the western powers were against him, when he was
vilified as a terrorist and a criminal, he kept the faith. He showed
perseverance and vision. There are lessons in all of this for us but
particularly for the people of the island of Ireland as we continue the
necessary and challenging task of building the peace.

I first saw Nelson Mandela when he visited Dublin in 1990. That was the
day the Irish soccer team returned home. When Madiba appeared a section
of the crowd began to chant ‘Ooh ahh Paul Mc Grath’s Da’. The craic was
ninety. In 1995 myself, and several other activists travelled to South
Africa at the invitation of the ANC to speak to senior figures from that
party who had been centrally involved in the process of negotiations.
That was when I met Madiba for the first time.

It was almost a year after the IRA cessation and just over a year since
the first post apartheid election which returned Madiba as President of
a Free South Africa. Myself, and several colleagues travelled there at
the invitation of the ANC to speak to senior figures from that party who
had been centrally involved in the process of negotiations.

The ANC also arranged meetings with representatives from the National
Party, General Constand Viljoen leader of the Freedom Front Party and
Dr. Niel Barnard the head of the Apartheid regime’s National
Intelligence Service.

In developing the Sinn Fein peace strategy toward the end of the 1980s
and into the early 1990s Irish Republicans had recognised the importance
of the international community as an ally for making progress in a peace
process and as a source of inspiration and information for our own
endeavours.

While much of our focus was on Irish-America, which had the greatest
concentration of the Irish diaspora, Irish Republicans had always had a
close affinity with the struggle in South Africa. In my youth one of my
first demonstrations was in Dublin against apartheid and the visit of
the Springbok Rugby team. I was a long time supporter of the
Anti-apartheid movement. The purpose of our trip in 1995 was to learn
the lessons of South Africa’s approach to conflict resolution, and to
brief people on the difficulties in our process.

Walter Sisulu, Cyril Ramaphosa, Thabo Mbeki, Cheryl Carolus and many
others in the leadership of the ANC made us very welcome. However, for
all of our group the highlight of our many meetings was with Madiba. He
was self-effacing in his humour, totally relaxed and very focused.

As ever the British government, and sections of the British media, had
made much about whether or not there would be a handshake, would there
be a photograph and so on. The Major government had lobbied hard for
Mandela not to meet me. His response was simply put as we shook hands in
his office: “Ah, comrade Gerry, I’ll not wash my hand for a week.”
Madiba thanked me for the solidarity that Irish republicans had extended
to the ANC and the anti-apartheid struggle over many years.

It was my privilege to meet Madiba many times after that; in South
Africa, in Ireland and Britain. He was funny, engaging and modest and
hugely supportive of the Irish peace process. Along with his comrades in
the ANC he was very helpful and he had a depth of understanding of the
twists and turns of our process.

He was very loyal to those, including Irish republicans who had helped
the ANC in difficult times. His outreach to Sinn Fein in the ‘90’s was
resisted stridently by the British Government and criticised by sections
of the media.

In 2001, on the 20th anniversary of the hunger strike, I travelled to
South Africa to unveil a monument to the hunger strikers, in the yard in
Robben island prison where Madiba spent much of this time imprisoned. As
part of that visit Madiba and I met again and spent several hours
talking about the Irish peace process and the changing face of South
Africa.

In 2003 he visited Dublin to open the Special Olympics at Croke Park.
Martin McGuinness and I met him privately for discussions. Despite his
age and increased physical frailty his mind was as sharp as a razor;
conversant with the twists and turns of our process as well as the
affairs of his own continent or the injustice of the war in Iraq.

Madiba was a very remarkable human being. At our first meeting his
commitment to the Irish peace process was obvious. Nelson Mandela
remains one of my heroes and in my view the greatest political leader of
our time. ‘Se mo laoch. Mo Ghile Mear.’

Madiba will continue to inspire and encourage oppressed peoples
everywhere. His legacy will live on.

In the words he used to salute his friend and comrade Walter Sisulu.

Hamba Kahle, Madiba. Qhawe la ma Qhawe!

(Go well, Rest in Peace, Madiba Hero among heroes.)

‘For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains, but to live in a
way that respects and enhances the freedom of others’. Madiba

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